The Strangest Events that have occurred in London

When it comes to visiting London, the capital of the UK is just like any other major city. It comes with its array of tourist traps, cultural treats and daily life stories. However, every once in a while, a story emerges from the city that appears even stranger than fiction. Here are some of the weirdest events that have graced London's city streets.

The Train of the Dead

Let's start by going back in time to 1854. At this point in time, a cholera outbreak had taken the lives of about 600 people. Many residents believed that this was due to the theory of a disease being air born, being carried on the smog as a "miasma" of London's pollution when in reality it was due to sanitation issues and water hygiene. Due to this disease, London's cemeteries began to overflow and there simply was not enough room to bury the recently deceased.

As a result, a burial relocation was organised for corpses to be transferred to Surrey. This was through the London Necropolis Railway, where bodies were placed onto the trains for transferal. The train of the dead even received its own platform at Waterloo so that the train could stop and wait for new bodies to be placed on it. The platform had its own mourning and funeral room, as well as a hydraulic lift to pick up corpses and their coffins to be placed on the train.

The necropolis train actually ended up running for 87 years and had a train route sculpted for the "final destination" passengers that passed by gorgeous landscapes, including those of Westminster, Richmond Park and Hampton Court. It has been estimated that this train ended up carrying more than 2,000 bodies per year. Whilst the original necropolis railway and its building no longer stands, there is still a reconstructed North Station which tourists can visit.

The London Beer Flood

Going back even further than 1854, did you know that in 1814 one of the weirdest industrial events took the lives of 8 people in St Giles, London. On the 17th October, a 15-foot high beer tsunami erupted from The Horse Shoe Brewery and spilt into the streets of Tottenham Court Road

It is said that the reason behind this flood was due to a wooden fermentation tank snapping. Whilst 8 died due to the flood itself, it was only made worse when thirsty victims decided to scoop up the "free" beer and drink it. This led to cases of alcohol poisoning and even a ninth victim dying.

According to old newspapers, this event actually led to this area of London stinking of beer for months to come. Some even took this even a step further and decided to profit from it by displaying the corpses of the victims for money. However, for one exhibition, its floor was too weak to sustain the weight of its visitors, therefore it collapsed and plunged everyone into the cellar beneath that was filled beer.

A Skyscraper's Super Power

Moving forward to the present day, if we are going to talk about strange events that happened in London, we just have to speak about the Walkie-Talkie. The Walkie-Talkie is a building that has a curved shape to highlight its glass windows. However, due to this curve, reflected sunbeams actually have the power to create "hot spots", meaning that the temperature in these spots is raised. One unlucky Jaguar ended up actually melting under the hot spot, and some people reported shoes and bicycle seats burning. There was even a video uploaded where an egg was cooked on the pavement under the heat of the walkie-talkie.

Whilst there have been sun protectors placed around the building in order to lessen the damage of the hot spots, there are still reports today of scorch marks. So try not to stay under this building's glare for too long!

Colourless Commuters

In 2015, a number of commuters dressed entirely in white (from head to foot) took to the streets of London in order to ask the question, "Why is the future always colourless?" Whilst this was for a Dulux paint campaign, the overall message was extremely strong. It questioned whether we were "sleepwalking into a future without the emotional benefits colour brings." The commuters were sent out to the tube, the buses and even onto the city streets to mingle with normal commuters.

WildLife Wanderers

In 2015, a survey from the Zoological Society of London found that the River Thames has seen the arrival of some extremely unique creatures. This has included 49 whales and 450 porpoises. However, the most famous exotic tourist was a northern bottlenose whale. It was stranded near the Albert Bridge in 2006 and was dubbed the "Thames Whale."

In addition to this water visitors, London's tube has seen its fair share of cats, dogs, ravens and foxes taking a daily commute. A wild otter was even found within Tower Hamlets. Just remember that when you visit London, you may see a little more than busy commuters parading around the streets.

The Bouncy Castle Tragedy

Now, London is known for its art installations. They are the perfect place to explore on your own, with friends or even if you wanted to go out on a date with a London escort, click here for more details. No matter the reason why you visit them, they usually provide a good source of entertainment for a little while.

However, one installation soon became deadly when it was accidentally unleashed from the ground. In 2006, an inflatable structure, known as "Dreamspace V", was created to allow guests to explore its passageways and rainbow walls. Whilst it was meant to stay secured on the ground, before guests knew it, it became untethered and managed to take flight into the air. This was up to 50ft and landed 150ft away. Unfortunately, there were people still inside the structure and the unexpected flight caused 13 injuries and two deaths. Today, people still do not understand how the structure ended up becoming airborne.

What other strange events do you know of?

London is famous for portraying an extremely well-cultured and dignified city, but even the UK's capital cannot stop the occasional odd event. The main question is though, do you have any other examples of strange events that have occurred in this city? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!